Building a car from scratch!

[Ultima]

I've always wanted to build my own little car from scratch, just for fun. Put the frame together, add steering, suspension, the motor and put a body on it. It would be really small and light (250lbs with rider, and the size of those recumbent bikes) but with just a 24hp motor could do 0-60 in 4-5 secs and a top speed of 110mph!!

That would be a blast to whim around with, and it would be narrow enough to fit on bikepaths too. I wouldn't want to get in an accident with that thing but this is just for fun and fun only. IT's not like I'd use it to go everywhere . How hard would it be to build something like that, and how much would it cost? Has anyone ever done something like this (build their own vehicle)?

 

[TopGun]

If you take that thing out on bike paths I'll hunt you down and kill you myself. k, just kidding, but that would really not be cool if you did. Besides being rude and obnoxious most bike paths do not allow motorized vehicles.

I can't imagine it'd be too hard to build, if you can weld and have some decent tools, even easier.

 

[Migroo]

Might have some good info:

Build your own sports car...

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: TopGun
If you take that thing out on bike paths I'll hunt you down and kill you myself. k, just kidding, but that would really not be cool if you did. Besides being rude and obnoxious most bike paths do not allow motorized vehicles.

I can't imagine it'd be too hard to build, if you can weld and have some decent tools, even easier.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen scooters and police cars on the bikepaths around here. The scooters is usually late at night though. The police cars are annoying cause they take up the entire path.

 

[bigshot]

im building a little car for a project for last year of university...its gonna be cool
but you gotta really know what the hell your doing. the frame must be solid, weight must be perfect, steering, brakes, are you talking about making your own engine too cause if you wanna do that you gonna need some experience.

i wouldnt recommand getting into it unless ytou know what your doing, ask a mechanical engineer to team with you or something, they probably no what the hell to do.
anyways good luck

 

[vi edit]

linky

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: bigshot
im building a little car for a project for last year of university...its gonna be cool
but you gotta really know what the hell your doing. the frame must be solid, weight must be perfect, steering, brakes, are you talking about making your own engine too cause if you wanna do that you gonna need some experience.

i wouldnt recommand getting into it unless ytou know what your doing, ask a mechanical engineer to team with you or something, they probably no what the hell to do.
anyways good luck

Nah, probably buy the engine or try and get a used one . Probably wouldn't put 24 horses in there either (cost too much to buy), more like 10 or something. I probably should find someone with mechanical expertise, I was thinking of using aluminum poles (like ones you see on a stop sign) screwed together .. probably a bad idea No idea what the hell I'd use as the shell to go over the thing (the body).

 

[NogginBoink]

Hell, go for it!

I'm about to start building an airplane from scratch. Maybe one day I'll fly out and see your car.

 

[bigshot]

get some nice aluminum piece or whatever (i dont no how it works) and weld it to a frame of a car with like a fiberglass cover or something...this will cost money though
i really doubt you could build a car with only 250 bucks...its gonna be a POS if you do though hehe

 

[Infos]

On a side note I don't know what the ratio is these days...
but like 10-20 years ago to build a car from scratch using dealer parts (not counting labour)
was like 20 to 30 times retail

 

[Ultima]

okay, so what I would need?

Frame
two axles
four wheels
suspension
steering
brakes
motor
seat
body to enclose the thing

The motor will probably be most expensive at about $250 for that alone. What about other parts? Does a frame have to be welded or could it be screwed together? I'm going for 250-300lbs with rider so is that really necessary? One aluminum pole running down the middle with a bar going over each axle (and the suspension connected to the axle at the end of those bars), and uh, the engine mounted in the back somehow, using a couple more aluminum bars I guess

How well would that work? How the heck does suspension connect to an axle anyway? I sort of figured out how the steering would work from HowStuffWorks, does go-kart steering work the same way? (rack and pinion). Maybe I could buy that part then and hook it up. Then I'd have a steerable frame but no way to move it except with my feet Just getting to that point, where I have a frame with wheels suspension and steering, how expensive would that be? After I got there I could then think of where to take it next (ie: what kind of motor to put on it, what kind of body etc..)

As you can tell I don't really know much about how cars are built internally. As long as I didn't have to wield anything I could probably put it together myself, it's the design that leaves me confused

 

[Unsickle]

Here's a car that I built with some friends. The Bear

 

[Gillbot]

My father in law has built many "dune buggy" type cars from scratch. Most are street legal and registered with title!

 

[Infos]

Sounds like A Kit Car
would be more your cup of tea

 

[lowtech1]

What do you mean by building a car from scratch?

It will take alot of qork to mine your own minerals & separate it then smelting & tooling will take you more than a life time. But, if you mean buying parts & put it together similar to a kit car concept will cost at least 3X more than a production car. The cost can be lower if you uses used parts from junk yard.

You could mount a motor on a bike, but doing sub 5 sec & 110 mph is out of the question, because the torque is too much for any bicycle frame & I don't belive bicycle tires are rated for 110mph.

 

[AnthraX101]

You would also need to tweek the gearing probably....and if you expect to get high speeds out of it, you'll need a tranny.

Armani

 

[TopGun]

yeah you'll need some kind of gear box.... Doesn't sound like you're much into fabing your own stuff... I'd look at those kits Screw together a frame and it will turn out really shitty, you're just asking for it to fall apart.

 

[Ultima]

I couldn't use a bike gear set?

I want to build the entire thing for under $1000.. is that possible? I mean the motor is $250, how god damn expensive can everything else be? The wheels.. maybe $50? clutch $30? Bike drivetrain I can just rip off of an old bike, frame I can build out of.. I dunno, something cheap yet strong enough to support 250 pounds
It's the more technical things like suspension and steering that I don't know how the hell to design. I started looking up stuff on suspension and was basically "wtf?" when I saw what the systems looked like...

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: Unsickle
Here's a car that I built with some friends. The Bear

that's pretty damn awesome. That's basically what I want to end up, except maybe a bit narrower in the front (I wanna go on bike path remember? ;p) and with two wheels on the back (yours looks like it has just one)

 

[notfred]

the thing you're talknig about is called a go-kart.

 

[amdskip]

It's called a rail my friend (Drag racing)

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: notfred
the thing you're talknig about is called a go-kart.

I don't want to build a go-kart. I want to end up with something like unsickle's "bear" except not as "showy", 4 wheels, and a bit narrower

 

[Colt45]

Originally posted by: Ultima
I couldn't use a bike gear set?

That ain't gonna cut it. too much torque.

I suppose motorbike drive gears would work, but then you still need a tranny.

I've got a 2cyl, 2 stroke snowmobile engine i was going to make something out of, but then my dad was bitching about how im too old for that (18)

Im not really sure how many HP it is.. meybe.. hmm.. 25-40 prolly.


I got a MIG welder and sh|t, so I could do up a frame easy. the rest of the parts i could pull off of motorbikes from my uncles' wreckingyard..

I could use either the centrifugal clutch from a snowmobile, or maybe even a bike tranny.. i think most bike engines put out higher RPM than this motor though, so that wouldnt work too well.

 

[Ultima]

Ah, the images here help clear up the suspension thing for me

 

[Ultima]

heh the parts aren't as expensive as I thought either
4 wheels - $24
4 shocks/springs - $112
steering + tie rods (need 2 right?) - $36
drive chain + sprocket - $20 (only one gear though )
clutch - $20
so about $220 for steering, suspension, wheels, and transmission
That leaves the frame, motor, body, and brakes.